A Shade Darker Than Midnight
by SylvanDreamer
Summary: Oneshot. It's not quite the midnight kiss Draco expected. And the culprit is nowhere to be found. HD slash.


Another one-shot. Frankly, I shock myself. Heh. I must be incredibly desperate for my HarryDraco fix. I've been meaning to post this for some time but never really got around to it.

**Note**: In this fic, let's pretend that Draco doesn't know who Sirius Black is yet, okay?

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. Quite as simple as that.**

**A Shade Darker Than Midnight**

"Draco!"

"Draco, over here!"

"It was me Draco! I rescued you! It was me who you kissed!"

Draco Malfoy found himself frozen as he faced the horde of girls who were running towards him, little hearts in their eyes. His silvery gray eyes widened slightly before he found his legs and started running for it. He turned past corridors, raced up moving staircases, dashed through hallways of the maze that was Hogwarts Castle, all the while frantically hoping that he could outrun them.

Draco knew he had many admirers in Hogwarts. Looks like his did turn heads. But this was getting ridiculous! He had been chased by half the female population of the school for two days making him late for all his classes and had to resort to a notice-me-not charm, which unfortunately didn't work all that well because the girls were very handy in casting the counter charm.

He stopped by a statue of Rowena Ravenclaw and leaned against it, panting. He didn't know for how long he had been running but he was dead tired. One hand wiped the sweat above his brow and his ears were alert for the slightest sound of footfalls. This week had to be the worst in his life. He frowned. Or maybe the second worst. He couldn't decide whether it was this week or the time when that deranged ex-Auror Mad-Eye Moody had transfigured him into a ferret.

Draco barely had time to flex his slightly cramped legs before he heard a squeal behind him. He slowly turned around. A third year was standing behind him, a besotted expression on her face.

"Draco! I've found you!" she cried out.

Five seconds later (they ticked in Draco's head) the rest of his so-called admirers came running, the thundering of their footsteps echoing throughout the corridors. Draco gulped. _Shit_.

He made a run for it, knowing now exactly where to head for. The girls were not far behind him. They would not let their precious Draco out of their sight this time. They followed as he descended a staircase headed for the dungeons. When they got there, there was no sign of Draco anywhere.

"What do you think you're doing?" an icy voice asked them.

The girls looked up to see Professor Snape, eyes flashing menacingly at them.

"Oh, er… We were just looking for Draco, Professor," the brunette in front replied in a small voice.

"Mr. Malfoy has gone to the Slytherin dormitories. I suggest you find him there, Miss Hannigan," he acidly told her, his eyes sweeping over the rest of the girls. "That goes for all of you."

One by one, dejectedly, they left. Snape returned to his workroom, where Draco sat head on his hands, sipping some water.

"I told you," he shot Snape an accusatory look. "It's been two days. They won't leave me alone! Even when I want to take a piss, they're waiting by the bathrooms. I like attention, but this is insane, Uncle Sev!"

Severus Snape gave a small, rueful smile at his godson. "What happened that brought all this about?"

Draco scowled before narrating the whole tale to Snape. His godfather remained impassive throughout the whole tale but Draco could tell Snape's lips were twitching in an attempt to stop from laughing.

"So what are you going to do?" Snape asked his godson.

Draco Malfoy groaned. "I have absolutely no idea."

* * *

"**BLAISE ZABINI!!!**"

Yelling in the Slytherin common room was a very rare occurrence. Unlike those rambunctious, plebeian Gryffindors, the Slytherins prided themselves on their manners, class and culturedness. They knew how to carry themselves. But of course, when a Slytherin was pushed beyond his limits, there tended to be… explosive side effects. The entire common room winced and prepared themselves for the inevitable wave of fury that was about to engulf them.

Blaise was frantically looking for a place to hide, but since all Slytherins feared Draco Malfoy's wrath, no Slytherin was willing to harbor him. The common room entrance slid open and a vicious looking Draco Malfoy stalked inside. His normally impeccable hair was slightly rumpled, as were his robes, his eyes were molten, sparking fire and currently trained on one Blaise Zabini.

Pansy Parkinson and Daphne Greengrass scurried over to some seats further away from Blaise, so the manicures they were giving themselves would not be ruined by any debris that would result from Draco's anger. Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle and Theodore Nott all scooted away from Blaise.

Draco stomped up to Blaise who tried hard not to cower. "D-Draco. Were you looking for me?"

"Brilliant plan huh, Zabini?" Draco hissed. "I'd find her in no time? It would be 'easy as pie'? **_Do you have any idea what I've been through these past two days?!_**"

What Draco had been through was common knowledge throughout all of Hogwarts now. The Slytherins stared. Blaise gulped. Pansy hazarded to speak. "But Drakey, it was really all of those nasty girls' fault! Blaise didn't know they would start chasing after you and proclaiming to be the ones who saved you!"

He glared at her and Pansy paled. "Don't call me Drakey again, Parkinson!" he menacingly took in the common room. "And what are you all looking at?!" The Slytherins returned to their tasks, not wanting to be the ones on the receiving end of Draco Malfoy's anger.

Draco gritted his teeth as he remembered how he had gotten into this situation.

_-Flashback-_

_Draco looked around to make sure no one was there, then he carefully crept into the Restricted Section of the library. He had read about a potion during vacation, Felix Felicis, and after Draco had read of its uses, he knew he had to try brewing it for himself. Unfortunately, there were no books in the Malfoy Manor that gave instructions on how to brew it. He knew there had to be a book here and he also knew it had to be in the Restricted Section._

_Draco walked silently, reading the covers of the books as he passed. He covered five bookcases before he found books that were likely to have instructions on brewing Felix Felicis. He was about to take one of them when he heard a sound behind him. Draco spun around, scared. Was Filch here? What about that disgusting cat of his? But Draco didn't see anything. He could have sworn he had heard someone gasp, though. He turned around but far too quickly. He accidentally hit one of the books, knocking it off the shelf. It fell, opening, to the floor._

_A black thing almost like a shadow shot from the book with a screech and hit Draco. That was the last thing he remembered before falling unconscious._

_…_

_Draco felt groggy. He knew he was moving. He tried to remember what had happened. Library. Book open. Shadow. He frowned. Someone was carrying him. It was far too dark to see who and for some reason, Draco felt utterly exhausted. It must've been whatever curse was in that book. The person carrying him stopped. Draco recognized the outline of the blank wall leading to the Slytherin common rooms._

_The person carefully set him down on the floor. Draco groaned a little, his body aching a bit. His hands grasped the person's robes. The person sat near him for a second, then gently removed Draco's hands._

_Draco heard the words, "I have to go," muttered. And the next thing he knew, wonderfully soft lips were on his. Somehow, the person's arms had encircled around him and Draco embraced the other person, too. The kiss was sinfully sweet. Draco had kissed other people before, but none of them had even come close to this. He was floating and wanted it never to end. Then the horribly expensive designer wristwatch his parents had bought for him started to chime. Midnight._

_The other person quickly pulled back, as though only realizing now what had been happening. Draco still felt utterly exhausted. Without another word, the person fled. Something dropped on the floor near Draco and his hand closed over it as he succumbed to the whoozy exhaustion._

_…_

_When he came to, he found Pansy, Blaise, Greg, Vince, Daphne and Theo staring down at him. Scowling, Draco pulled himself to a sitting position. He was lying in his bed in the dormitories. Had all that been a dream?_

_"We found you outside the common room, Dray. You were unconscious so we brought you in here," Blaise explained. "What happened?"_

_Draco frowned. So it hadn't been a dream. He clenched his hands and felt his left hand holding something. Opening his hand, he looked at it. It was a ring. But it wasn't just any ring. Draco recognized it because his father wore one himself. It was a signet ring that had the insignia of a family crest on it. It was a pureblood ring._

_"Drakey? What happened?" Pansy simpered._

_Draco found himself telling them what happened. Including the kiss (at which Pansy had thrown a tantrum). Draco finished the story confused, because he didn't quite know what to make of the whole thing._

_"Do you want to see her again?" Blaise had asked._

_Draco didn't know. He definitely wanted to kiss the person again, that was for sure. Blaise took his silence as a yes._

_"Don't worry, Dray, I'll take care of it," he had clapped Draco on the back with a smirk. "It'll be easy as pie. We'll find her in no time"._

_Blaise had taken care of it alright. Draco had no idea what Zabini had done, but by the next day, all the school knew about what had happened and all Draco's admirers were clamoring that it was them. And Draco had been busy dodging said admirers for two days._

_End Flashback_

"Okay, so it was a bad idea," Blaise Zabini admitted. "I'm sorry."

"I'm not going to forget this! You owe me for this, Zabini!" Draco snarled.

"All right, I get it!" Blaise gave him a conciliatory smile.

"I concede that Pansy does have a point though, Draco," Daphne spoke up. "Your 'admirers' have been here for a while. Well, they've been here since you hit puberty anyway. All they were looking for was an excuse to sidle up to you. Blaise just happened to give it to them." At which Draco glowered at Blaise again.

"I don't think the girl who was with you that night was one of the girls who are chasing after you, though," Daphne added thoughtfully.

Draco shot her a questioning look. Theo Nott snorted. "If the person who'd been with you was one of those silly girls, I doubt whether she would've brought you back to your dormitories."

Draco sat back on an armchair with a frown. "Somehow…" he picked his words slowly and carefully. "I don't think it was a girl with me that night."

His fellow Slytherins stared at him. He shook his head. "I doubt whether a girl could have carried me and I remember being carried. Besides…" _it sure didn't feel like a girl when we were kissing_. He left the last part unsaid.

A slow smirk started in Theo's face. "Dray… I never knew you swung that way."

He was rewarded with one of the iciest glares Draco could muster. It froze him up straightaway. "I think we should still find out who it is, boy or girl," Vince grunted.

"Finding out who it is sounds like the best idea so far," Blaise drawled. "But how do we go about it?"

"Where did the 'we' in that statement come from?" Draco demanded. "Why are you so eager to immerse yourselves in my dilemma?"

Pansy feigned hurt. "Draco! Don't tell us you don't want our help?"

Draco glared at her. "Fine. But remember I never asked you to do this."

The other Slytherins nodded. "Now how about you show us where this whole thing started?" Blaise grinned.

* * *

"I was standing there," Draco pointed, his voice flat to the part of the Restricted Section where he'd been. The seven Slytherins were taking care to be quiet.

Theo was about to say something when Blaise held up his hand. Two voices arguing were heard, coming closer to them. The Slytherins swiftly grabbed books and positioned themselves on the tables. A few moments later, an arguing Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger strolled up, a pained-looking Harry Potter between them. Harry stopped abruptly at the sight of the Slytherins.

"Potter," Draco sneered.

"Ron, 'Mione, let's go," Harry sharply told his best friends. Draco frowned. Was there a hint of panic in Potter's voice?

"But Harry, I thought we were supposed to look for – "

"Oh, drop it, Ronald!" Hermione dragged him away.

The Slytherins exchanged looks and sniggered. Draco took out the signet ring and laid it on the table.

"What's that?" Greg asked.

"When the person left, she or he accidentally dropped this," Draco announced smoothly.

They examined it. "It's a signet ring bearing a family coat of arms. Only really old pureblood families have this," Pansy stated. "The person who helped you must be in Slytherin after all!"

"No," Nott disagreed. "If the person had been a Slytherin, why leave Draco outside the dorms? Why not in the common room? Or his dormitory? Somehow, I don't think this was a Slytherin. For one thing, we're much more subtle."

Draco sighed. "The ring looks familiar, but I can't place where I've seen it before…"

Daphne frowned. "May I see it?" Draco handed it to her and the girl turned it over and over and examined it.

She smirked then handed it back to Draco. "I can't believe you, Draco," there was a slight condescending tone to her voice. "You of all people should know what family possesses that coat of arms."

Draco raised a brow. "I'm sure you'll tell me anyway."

"_Toujours Pur_," Daphne purred.

Draco's eyes widened. Of course! How could he have forgotten? The insignia of the Blacks! But…

"This makes no sense," Draco frowned. "There aren't any Blacks here at Hogwarts. And I'm fairly sure the main branch of the Black family has died out."

"Then where'd the ring come from?" Vince asked.

Draco didn't know. But he knew who he could ask.

* * *

A vein ticked in Draco's forehead when he saw what awaited him the following morning at breakfast. His usual spot in the table was piled high with pink wrapped boxes, roses, and (Merlin forbid) small, stuffed teddy bears. The Slytherins seated at the table were casting him surreptitious glances to see what his reaction would be. Behind him, he could actually feel Vince, Greg and Theo's efforts to suppress their sniggers. Pansy was ranting about the 'sluts' who thought that they even had the slightest inkling of a chance with 'Drakey'.

Draco rounded on Blaise who had turned slightly pale. "_Evanesco!_" Draco waved his wand at the lot of presents and they disappeared.

He sat down and his friends sat with him. Draco nibbled on a piece of toast as he waited. Soon enough, the breakfast owls started arriving. He saw his eagle owl, Arkus, swooping down towards him, bearing the expected letter from his mother. Draco stroked Arkus' feathers as he removed the letter from the owl. Unrolling the piece of parchment, his eyes ran down his mother's words and a frown tendered itself on his face.

His friends were glancing at him from time to time. Finally, Pansy could take it no longer.

"What did Mrs. Malfoy say, Draco?" she piped up eagerly.

Draco glanced around to ensure no one else was listening before answering, "Apparently, my mother's uncle and aunt had two sons who would have inherited the Black title. Sirius and Regulus Black," Draco read from the letter. "But Sirius ran away when he was a teenager, so the title would have fallen to Regulus. Unfortunately, Regulus Black died in the service of You-Know-Who and some years after, when their parents died as well, Sirius Black inherited everything again."

Draco paused and his friends leaned in closer. He continued, "Mother says, though, that Sirius Black is dead today so he must have left the Black estates to someone before he died. And mother doesn't know who."

Nott sat back with a smirk. "We're Slytherins Draco. Give us three days. We'll find out who inherited the Black fortune."

Draco rolled his eyes but nodded. Unbeknownst to them, a pair of eyes watched from the other side of the Great Hall. Emerald eyes both adoring and worried.

* * *

_Three days later…_

Draco looked up from his Transfiguration essay as Pansy seated herself across from him. They were in a corner of the common room and the other girl had on a cat-that-ate-the-cream smile on her face.

"What?" Draco asked.

Pansy sighed and fluttered her fingers. "I found out some things about this Sirius Black. Amazing how much information the student archives of Hogwarts holds… Did you know one of Millicent Bulstrode's ancestors was a hag? So much for pureblood. But, getting back to the topic," she added hastily at Draco's narrowed look. "Sirius Black was apparently a troublemaker. Over a hundred detentions! Despite that, though, he was a brilliant student. O's in all his OWL's. But get this, he was sorted into Gryffindor. No wonder he ran away! It's amazing his parents still let him live there after that… I mean a Black in Gryffindor! Anyway, I checked Black's detention records. He served some of his detentions with two guys named Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew, but nearly all of his detentions were served with – you'll never believe this – his best friend, James Potter!"

"Potter's father?" Draco snorted. "Why am I not surprised?"

At that moment, the common room door opened and Nott, Zabini, Crabbe, Goyle and Greengrass walked in. They went over to where Draco and Pansy were.

"Er… we just saw Professor Snape," Blaise began as he pushed a first year off an armchair and perched on it himself. "And he told us something about Sirius Black."

Draco raised a brow, inviting them to continue. "Apparently, Black was really close with a certain James Potter here at Hogwarts. When Potter gave birth to his son Harry, they named Black the godfather."

"Um… I have something to add to that," Daphne slowly said. "I, er, checked Sirius Black's records in Gringotts and before he died, he made a will indicating that all the Black estates – the money, the house, the title – would go to his, ah, his godson…"

Draco was stunned silent. Then,

"POTTER! Are you telling me this ring belongs to _**POTTER?!?!**_"

* * *

Cursing, Harry crossed out another mistake he made in his essay. He had to pay attention to this! Unfortunately, his mind was busy elsewhere. Like exactly where he had lost Sirius' ring. Or about a certain blond boy and a midnight kiss… 

Groaning, he banged his head on the library table, hoping Madam Pince wouldn't hear. He had to stop thinking about Draco. And that kiss!

"Hello, Potter," a cool voice spoke out and Harry paled, hoping it wasn't who he thought it was.

When he raised his head, he saw Draco Malfoy standing before him and Harry knew at that instant that the gods hated him. Malfoy had an unreadable expression on his face.

Slowly, deliberately, he took the seat across from Harry and seated himself. Harry had the urge to look wildly around and ask for help. But no one was in the immediate vicinity. He cursed himself for having to take a table away from the librarian so as not to be disturbed. There was an unusual glint in Malfoy's eye that Harry didn't like one bit. It was the look of a predator cornering his prey.

He swallowed his unease. "What do you want, Malfoy?"

The blond raised an elegant brow. "Is it so horrible for me to want to talk to a classmate?"

The feigned act did not fool Harry one bit. "With you, it's never innocent."

Malfoy let out a slow, devilishly charming smile. Harry felt like melting. "I assume you know what's been going on with me in the castle these past few days," Malfoy began in a conversational tone.

Harry was instantly wary. "If you mean yourself being chased by your fanclub, I couldn't care less, Malfoy."

"Hm. You should. You see, Harry, my so-called fanclub is chasing me due to an incident that happened a couple of days ago. I'm sure you've heard about it. I'm told it's common knowledge throughout Hogwarts," sarcasm dripped from Draco's voice.

"So someone kissed you? Was it that big a deal, Malfoy? What's the matter, never been kissed before?" Harry congratulated himself on keeping a straight voice.

"Yes Potter, I have been kissed before and yes again, it is that big a deal," Malfoy replied in a bored tone. "You see, I rather _liked_ the kiss. Liked it a _lot_, actually."

"I'm not some personal diary you can confide in, Malfoy. Why in Merlin's name are you telling me this?"

Draco met his eyes straight on. "Because I think you know who that person was."

Poker face, Harry, poker face. "Why would I know who that person was?" he managed to inject just the right amount of incredulity and dislike in his tone. "I wasn't even there!"

An unholy gleam danced in Malfoy's eyes. "No. You might not have been there but I believe the person is a… _friend_ of yours."

"What makes you think that, Malfoy?"

Malfoy laughed. A very sexy laugh, Harry couldn't help but notice. "I have my ways, Potter."

Malfoy stood up and made his way over to the other end of the table where Harry was sitting. Harry was rooted to the spot, desperately hoping Malfoy wasn't going to try anything. Malfoy stepped closer to Harry until he was standing right behind Harry's chair. Harry felt his mouth go dry.

"Potter, when you see this person again," he deliberately extended a hand and ran it up and down Harry's arm. A shockwave of tingles followed in its path. Harry repressed the urge to shiver in delight.

"Tell him I'd like to see him," Malfoy's touch traveled higher, caressing and gently massaging Harry's shoulder.

"H-him?" Harry managed to speak out.

Malfoy smirked. "Yes, Potter. Him." His hand spread pleasurable sensations as it crossed Harry's neck and traced the line of his cheeks, finally coming to a stop on his lips. Slowly, Draco traced Harry's slightly trembling lips.

"W-what are you doing?" Harry whispered.

"Relax, Potter," Draco purred as he knelt and swiftly fused their lips together.

An explosion of pleasure took place as Harry felt those incredibly soft lips moving against his. A flush rose from his face but he didn't pull away. Who knew Draco Malfoy could taste so sweet? He even tasted sweeter than that night when Harry had stolen the forbidden kiss. Unbidden, his arms rose up and pulled Draco closer to him. Draco responded in kind.

He felt Draco's tongue sweep his lips, seeking entrance. Eagerly, Harry opened his mouth and moaned as Draco plundered it. They both pulled away when they needed to breathe, flushed. There was a triumphant expression on Draco's face. Harry was still trying to come to terms with what had just happened.

"Thanks for the kiss, Potter," he drawled. "It was even better than the first time."

He leaned close to Harry and whispered in his ear, "I believe this belongs to you."

The signet ring of the Black family was pressed into Harry's palm, accompanied by one last, lingering peck on the lips from Draco Malfoy.

Then he was gone.

* * *

"Drakey!" 

Draco winced at Pansy's high-pitched voice. He was headed over to the Slytherin table where the rest of them were congregated eating dinner. Casually, he took his seat and heaped his plate with food.

"Well?" Not interrogated. "How'd it go?"

Draco shrugged, lips still tingling from their contact with Potter's. "It went okay. I gave it back to him."

Silence followed this remark. His fellow Slytherins gaped at him. "You… gave it back?" Blaise was staring at him as though he were a dementor.

"Yes, I gave it back," Draco replied calmly, doing a mental countdown in his head. Ten, nine, eight…

The Slytherins exchanged incredulous looks. Six, five…

"Drakey…" Pansy began but she didn't get to finish. Two, one.

"MALFOY!!!" the doors to the Great Hall were flung open and Harry Potter strode in. Draco smirked. The Golden Boy's hair was messier than usual and his lips still looked slightly swollen. He made his way over to the Slytherin table.

"What was that all about?" he demanded.

Draco raised a brow. "You started it, Potter."

The Gryffindor opened his mouth, searching for a retort but then shut it close at not finding one. He merely glared at Draco.

Draco chuckled. "Speechless, Potter?" he stood up. "You really are hopeless."

Without another word, and to the astonishment of the Hogwarts crowd who watched the two avidly, Draco Malfoy fisted Harry Potter's robes and roughly pulled the boy close to him, sealing their lips together in another kiss. This was getting quite addictive.

Ron fainted, the house elves dropped their platters of food, and the fly that had been buzzing into Severus Snape's open mouth stopped in midair. Everyone's eyes widened as both boys emitted moans. After what seemed like an eternity, they pulled apart.

Draco smirked as he leaned close and whispered to Harry's ear, "Run fast, Potter."

Sure enough, five seconds later, his fan club rose from their respective House tables with various cutlery in their hands (most of the said cutlery consisting of knives) and launched upon Harry with a war cry. The Gryffindor Golden Boy sped away faster than you could say 'snog'.

Draco sat down and oblivious to the stares of the entire Slytherin house proceeded to finish his dinner. Maybe he would step in and save Harry (who knew Potter was such a good kisser?) from the clutches of his fan club.

After dinner, of course.

**End**

Whoosh! Who knew I could write kissy scenes? Read and review guys!


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